The invention relates generally to detectable labels and compositions useful in assay methods for detecting soluble, suspended, or particulate substances or analytes such as proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, bacteria, viruses, and eukaryotic cells and more specifically relates to compositions and methods that include luminescent (phosphorescent or fluorescent) labels.
Methods for detecting specific macromolecular species, such as proteins, drugs, and polynucleotides, have proven to be very valuable analytical techniques in biology and medicine, particularly for characterizing the molecular composition of normal and abnormal tissue samples and genetic material. Many different types of such detection methods are widely used in biomedical research and clinical laboratory medicine. Examples of such detection methods include: immunoassays, immunochemical staining for microscopy, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), nucleic acid hybridization, water sampling, air sampling, and others.
Typically, a detection method employs at least one analytical reagent that binds to a specific target macromolecular species and produces a detectable signal. These analytical reagents typically have two components: (1) a probe macromolecule, for example, an antibody or oligonucleotide, that can bind a target macromolecule with a high degree of specificity and affinity, and (2) a detectable label, such as a radioisotope or covalently-linked fluorescent dye molecule. In general, the binding properties of the probe macromolecule define the specificity of the detection method, and the detectability of the associated label determines the sensitivity of the detection method. The sensitivity of detection is in turn related to both the type of label employed and the quality and type of equipment available to detect it.
For example, radioimmunoassays (RIA) have been among the most sensitive and specific analytical methods used for detecting and quantitating biological macromolecules. Radioimmunoassay techniques have been used to detect and measure minute quantities of specific analytes, such as polypeptides, drugs, steroid hormones, polynucleotides, metabolites, and tumor markers, in biological samples. Radioimmunoassay methods employ immunoglobulins labeled with one or more radioisotopes as the analytical reagent. Radiation (.alpha., .beta., or .gamma.) produced by decay of the attached radioisotope label serves as the signal which can be detected and quantitated by various radiometric methods.
Radioisotopic labels possess several advantages, such as: very high sensitivity of detection, very low background signal, and accurate measurement with precision radiometric instruments (scintillation and gamma counters) or with inexpensive and sensitive autoradiographic techniques. However, radioisotopic labels also have several disadvantages, such as: potential health hazards, difficulty in disposal, special licensing requirements, and instability (radioactive decay and radiolysis). Further, the fact that radioisotopic labels typically do not produce a strong (i.e., non-Cerenkov) signal in the ultraviolet, infrared, or visible portions of the electromagnetic spectrum makes radioisotopes generally unsuitable as labels for applications, such as microscopy, image spectroscopy, and flow cytometry, that employ optical methods for detection.
For these and other reasons, the fields of clinical chemistry, water and air monitoring, and biomedical research have sought alternative detectable labels that do not require radioisotopes. Examples of such non-radioactive labels include: (1) enzymes that catalyze conversion of a chromogenic substrate to an insoluble, colored product (e.g., alkaline phosphatase, .beta.-galactosidase, horseradish peroxidase) or catalyze a reaction that yields a fluorescent or luminescent product (e.g., luciferase) (Beck and Koster (1990) Anal. Chem. 62: 2258; Durrant, I. (1990) Nature 346: 297; Analytical Applications of Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence (1984) Kricka et al. (Eds.) Academic Press, London), and (2) direct fluorescent labels (e.g., fluorescein isothiocyanate, rhodamine, Cascade blue), which absorb electromagnetic energy in a particular absorption wavelength spectrum and subsequently emit visible light at one or more longer (i.e., less energetic) wavelengths.
Using enzymes and phosphorescent/fluorescent or calorimetric detectable labels offers the significant advantage of signal amplification, since a single enzyme molecule typically has a persistent capacity to catalyze the transformation of a chromogenic substrate into detectable product. With appropriate reaction conditions and incubation time, a single enzyme molecule can produce a large amount of product, and hence yield considerable signal amplification. However, detection methods that employ enzymes as labels disadvantageously require additional procedures and reagents in order to provide a proper concentration of substrate under conditions suitable for the production and detection of the colored product. Further, detection methods that rely on enzyme labels typically require prolonged time intervals for generating detectable quantities of product, and also generate an insoluble product that is not attached to the probe molecule.
An additional disadvantage of enzyme labels is the difficulty of detecting multiple target species with enzyme-labeled probes. It is problematic to optimize reaction conditions and development time(s) for two or more discrete enzyme label species and, moreover, there is often considerable spectral overlap in the chromophore end products which makes discrimination of the reaction products difficult.
Fluorescent labels do not offer the signal amplification advantage of enzyme labels, nonetheless, fluorescent labels possess significant advantages which have resulted in their widespread adoption in immunocytochemistry. Fluorescent labels typically are small organic dye molecules, such as fluorescein, Texas Red, or rhodamine, which can be readily conjugated to probe molecules, such as immunoglobulins or Staph. aureus Protein A. The fluorescent molecules (fluorophores) can be detected by illumination with light of an appropriate excitation frequency and the resultant spectral emissions can be detected by electro-optical sensors or light microscopy.
A wide variety of fluorescent dyes are available and offer a selection of excitation and emission spectra. It is possible to select fluorophores having emission spectra that are sufficiently different so as to permit multitarget detection and discrimination with multiple probes, wherein each probe species is linked to a different fluorophore. Because the spectra of fluorophores can be discriminated on the basis of both narrow band excitation and selective detection of emission spectra, two or more distinct target species can be detected and resolved (Titus et al. (1982) J. Immunol. Methods 50: 193; Nederlof et al. (1989) Cytometry 10: 20; Ploem, J. S. (1971) Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 177: 414).
Unfortunately, detection methods which employ fluorescent labels are of limited sensitivity for a variety of reasons. First, with conventional fluorophores it is difficult to discriminate specific fluorescent signals from nonspecific background signals. Most common fluorophores are aromatic organic molecules which have broad absorption and emission spectra, with the emission maximum red-shifted 50-100 nm to a longer wavelength than the excitation (i.e., absorption) wavelength. Typically, both the absorption and emission bands are located in the UV/visible portion of the spectrum. Further, the lifetime of the fluorescence emission is usually short, on the order of 1 to 100 ns. Unfortunately, these general characteristics of organic dye fluorescence are also applicable to background signals which are contributed by other reagents (e.g., fixative or serum), or autofluorescence or the sample itself (Jongkind et al. (1982) Exp. Cell Res. 138: 409; Aubin, J. E. (1979) J. Histochem. Cytochem. 27: 36). Autofluorescence of optical lenses and reflected excitation light are additional sources of background noise in the visible spectrum (Beverloo et al. (1991) Cytometry 11: 784; Beverloo et al. (1992) Cytometry 13: 561). Therefore, the limit of detection of specific fluorescent signal from typical fluorophores is limited by the significant background noise contributed by nonspecific fluorescence and reflected excitation light.
A second problem of organic dye fluorophores that limits sensitivity is photolytic decomposition of the dye molecule (i.e., photobleaching). Thus, even in situations where background noise is relatively low, it is often not possible to integrate a weak fluorescent signal over a long detection time, since the dye molecules decompose as a function of incident irradiation in the UV and near-UV bands.
However, because fluorescent labels are attractive for various applications, several alternative fluorophores having advantageous properties for sensitive detection have been proposed. One approach has been to employ organic dyes comprising a phycobiliprotein acceptor molecule dye that emits in the far red or near infrared region of the spectrum where nonspecific fluorescent noise is reduced. Phycobiliproteins are used in conjunction with accessory molecules that effect a large Stokes shift via energy transfer mechanisms (U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,862; Oi et al. (1982) J. Cell. Biol. 93: 891). Phycobiliprotein labels reduce the degree of spectral overlap between excitation frequencies and emission frequencies. An alternative approach has been to use cyanine dyes which absorb in the yellow or red region and emit in the red or far red where autofluorescence is reduced (Mujumbar et al. (1989) Cytometry 10: 11).
However, with both the phycobiliproteins and the cyanine dyes the emission frequencies are red-shifted (i.e., frequency downshifted) and emission lifetimes are short, therefore background autofluorescence is not completely eliminated as a noise source. More importantly perhaps, phycobiliproteins and cyanine dyes possess several distinct disadvantages: (1) emission in the red, far red, and near infrared region is not well-suited for detection by the human eye, hampering the use of phycobiliprotein and cyanine labels in optical fluorescence microscopy, (2) cyanines, phycobiliproteins, and the coupled accessory molecules (e.g., Azure A) are organic molecules susceptible to photobleaching and undergoing undesirable chemical interactions with other reagents, and (3) emitted radiation is down-converted , i.e., of longer wavelength(s) than the absorbed excitation radiation. For example, Azure A absorbs at 632 nm and emits at 645 nm, and allophycocyanin absorbs at 645 nm and emits at 655 nm, and therefore autofluorescence and background noise from scattered excitation light is not eliminated.
Another alternative class of fluorophore that has been proposed are the down-converting luminescent lanthanide chelates (Soini and Lovgren (1987) CRC Crit. Rev. Anal. Chem. 18: 105; Leif et al. (1977) Clin. Chem. 23: 1492; Soini and Hemmila (1979) Clin. Chem. 25: 353; Seveus et al. (1992) Cytometry 13: 329). Down-converting lanthanide chelates are inorganic phosphors which possess a large downward Stokes shift (i.e., emission maxima is typically at least 100 nm greater than absorption maxima) which aids in the discrimination of signal from scattered excitation light. Lanthanide phosphors possess emission lifetimes that are sufficiently long (i.e., greater than 1 .mu.s) to permit their use in time-gated detection methods which can reduce, but not totally eliminate, noise caused by shorter-lived autofluorescence and scattered excitation light. Further, lanthanide phosphors possess narrow-band emission, which facilitates wavelength discrimination against background noise and scattered excitation light, particularly when a laser excitation source is utilized (Reichstein et al. (1988) Anal. Chem. 60: 1069). Recently, enzyme-amplified lanthanide luminescence using down-converting lanthanide chelates has been proposed as a fluorescent labeling technique (Evangelista et al. (1991) Anal. Biochem. 197: 213; Gudgin-Templeton et al. (1991) Clin Chem. 37: 1506).
Until recently, down-converting lanthanide phosphors have had the significant disadvantage that their quantum efficiency in aqueous (oxygenated) solutions is so low as to render them unsuitable for cytochemical staining. Beverloo et al. (op.cit.) have described a particular down-converting lanthanide phosphor (yttrium oxysulfide activated with europium) that produces a signal in aqueous solutions which can be detected by time-resolved methods. Seveus et al. (op.cit.) have used down-converting europium chelates in conjunction with time-resolved fluorescence microscopy to reject the signal from prompt fluorescence and thereby reduce autofluorescence. Tanke et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,265) report down-converting phosphor particles as labels for immunoglobulins and polynucleotides.
However, the down-converting lanthanide phosphor of Beverloo et al. and the europium chelate of Seveus et al. require excitation wavelength maxima that are in the ultraviolet range, and thus produce significant sample autofluorescence and background noise (e.g., serum and/or fixative fluorescence, excitation light scattering and refraction, etc.) that must be rejected (e.g., by filters or time-gated signal rejection). Further, excitation with ultraviolet irradiation damages nucleic acids and other biological macromolecules, posing serious problems for immunocytochemical applications where it is desirable to preserve the viability of living cells and retain cellular structures (e.g., FACS, cyto-architectural microscopy).
Laser scanning fluorescence microscopy has been used for two-photon excitation of a UV-excitable fluorescent organic dye, Hoechst 33258, using a stream of strongly focused laser pulses (Denk et al. (1990) Science 248: 73). The organic fluorphore used by Denk et al. was significantly photobleached by the intense, highly focused laser light during the course of imaging. Motsenbocker et al. (EP 476 35 556) describes a method to increase luminol chemiluminescence by adding a dye catalyst that absorbs long wavelength radiation (deep red light) and subsequently reacts with molecular oxygen to generate an oxidant which can itself react with luminol and produce oxidized luminol which emits blue light. Gavrilovic (U.S. Pat. No. 5,166,948) discloses a method and apparatus for optical pumping of infrared pump light to a visible or ultraviolet emission light having a wavelength shorter than the pump light (i.e., up-converted emission).
Thus, there exists a significant need in the art for labels and detection methods that permit sensitive optical and/or spectroscopic detection of specific label signal(s) with essentially total rejection of nonspecific background noise, and which are compatible with intact viable cells and aqueous or airborne environments.
The references discussed herein are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the inventors are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.